Nail-driving implement



A. J. DE LANDER. NAIL omvme IMPLEMENT.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. I1. 1919.

' awwauto'c flugusfJDeLandc-n' WQWIHR Gum Patented May 18, 1920.

UNITED STATES AUGUST J. DE LANDEB oF SPOKANE, WASHINGTON.

NAIL-DRIVING IMPLEMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 18, 1920.

Application filed August 11, 1919. ,Serial No. 316,728.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, AUGUST J. De LANnnn, acitizen of the United States, residing at Spokane, in Spokane county,and State of Washington, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Nail-Driving Implements, of which the following is aspecification.

The present invention relates to an im-- proved nail driving implementdesigned especially for use in driving nails, tacks, &c., in places thatare usually inaccessible for hammers or hatchets, and also for thepurpose of assisting in holding short nails or tacks that are notadapted to be held in the fingers. The invention consists in certainnovel combinations and arrangements of parts of the tool that is to beutilized in connection with a hammer, whereby the nail is guided to itsplace preparatory and preliminary to the hammer blow, and the inventionfurther consists in certain novel combinations and arrangements of partsfor retaining the reciprocable driving bar as will be hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings one complete example of the physicalembodiment of the invention is illustrated, showing a comparativelyinexpensive tool embodying the novel features of the invention andconstructed and arranged according to the best" mode I have so fardevised for the practical application of the principles of my invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device complete, showing a nail inposition ready to be driven.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view" of the tool or im plement, as in Fig. 1, butwith the nail omitted.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the driving bar.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the casing, showing thedriving bar in full and its relation to a nail.

Figs. 5, 6, and 7, are views showing several ways in which the implementmay be used, and its adaptability for driving a nail in a close corner;driving a nail obliquely; and also for driving a nail between twoobjects where the space will not permit the entrance of a hammer.

Fig. 8 is an end view, enlarged, showing particularly the bent tonguefitting against the converging side walls of the casing.

In the preferred form of the invention as depicted in the drawings Iutilize a metallic,

tubular casing 1 preferably V-shaped in cross section, and adapted toinclose the driving member 2, which is a metal bar, also V shaped incross section and designed to fit neatly in the casing and be slidabletherein.

The casing carries a flat retaining spring 3 from notch 7, prevents thedriving bar from passing out through the upper end of the casing. Thuseither of these two notches may be engaged by the hook to preventdisplacement of the driving bar, but the bar is permitted, in operation,to move the distance between these two notches.

At its opposite end the retaining spring is fashioned with an angulartongue 8 as a guide and retaining device for the nail N as it is beingdriven, and the tongue overhangs the lower end of the driving memberuntil the nail has been driven far enough into the material andpossesses sufiicient rigidity to stand alone. At 9, 9, the tongue is cutoff to form inclined faces to correspond with the inclined walls of thetube or casing so that the resilient tongue may extend a Suficientdistance toward the narrow part or corner of the casing which provides atrough for the nail. Thus a space 10 is left between the tongue and thenail trough so that the nail may be held or retained in the tongue andtrough while it is being inserted and driven into the material.

At 11 the edge of the driving bar is rounded or cam shaped so that as itencounters the tongue on the lower end of the spring, the tongue will beforced out, due to repeated hammer blows on the driving bar, and thenail or tack may thus be driven home.

It will readily be apparent that the device isadapted to hold or retainand drive various sizes of tacks and nails, and with it, the nails maybe accurately placed previous to driving. The nails or tacks are fed,singly and head first into the casing below the driving bar, and thenail naturally seeks and rests in the trough formed by the con vergingside walls of the caslng, with its point extending through the space 10of the trough in position to be hammered. The tool is specially adaptedfor drivingthe nail through sheet metal like metal weather strips, forthe reason that the nail may be may be employed, constructed with asmaller sized head, and the nail sunk as deep as desired.

Many uses are found for the tool, but it is especially useful in drivingnails into shoe heels where it is essential that the nail be driven fromthe inside of the shoe. Other and numerous uses are found for theimplement that might be mentioned, but it is apparent that I haveprovided a comparatively inexpensive, but efficient tool or implement,for performing its functions in a very satisfactory manner.

lVhat I claim isa 1. The combination with a slotted tubular casing and areciprocable driving member therein having spaced notches in its upperface, of a retaining spring centrally fixed outside the casing andhaving one end to engage either of the notches and its opposite endformed with a resilient tongue overhanging the front open end of thecasing for retaining and guiding a tack as described.

2. The combination with a slotted tubular casing V-shaped in crosssection and forming a nail trough, and a two-notched driving bar withinthe casing, of a centrally secured retaining spring on the outside ofthe casing having a hooked end projecting through the casing to engageeither of said notches, the other end of the spring having a bent tonguewith slanting faces overhanging the front open end of the casing toengage the walls of the trough, and said driving bar adapted to recelveblows from a hammer to drive a nail, as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

AUGUST J. fDE LANDER.

